What is after-sales customer service?
In order to define post-sale customer service, it is necessary to collect all interactions that may occur between the store and the customer at the stage following order confirmation. Adhering to customer contact after the sale can determine the customer’s willingness to return, because it is at this stage that unforeseen difficulties such as delays in order processing, delivery problems or damaged shipments often occur.
A vendor who doesn’t emphasize creating a positive experience after the sale must expect that dissatisfied customers will raise their voices and not fail to describe their impressions – for example, in online feedback aggregators.
The goal of after-sales customer service should not be simply to avoid potential problems. Instead, treat it as an important link in building long-term relationships that can pay off in the future. The result can be the acquisition of a regular customer, who may well recommend shopping at your store to others.
What are the components of a good e-commerce after-sales service?
Do you want to ensure that your store is famous for excellent customer service after the sale? Consider these five elements and try to gradually implement them all:
- A multitude of options for the customer to contact the store.
- Ability to monitor the shipment.
- Transparent returns and complaints.
- Availability and assistance in solving problems.
- Communication on social media and other channels.
A multitude of options for the customer to contact the store
Try to put yourself in the shoes of a customer who has found the right product for him, selected yours out of dozens of other stores, placed the order, made the transfer, and is now waiting. It is natural that in case of a prolonged delivery or other problems, he will want to find out what the reasons are. In this situation, scouring the Internet for ways to contact the store will only add to the buyer’s frustration and concern.
The solution is to create multiple contact options and place clear information about them in all relevant and frequently visited places.
What contact options can you offer?
- e-mail,
- telephone number (hotline),
- contact form,
- chat on the store’s website,
- Chat in Messenger and other instant messengers.
Increasingly, stores are also relying on various chatbots – these are applications that do not replace an employee, but allow them to assign a customer need to a specific category and redirect the customer to the appropriate person or material – for example, when a customer makes an attempt to contact them outside of store hours.
Ability to monitor the shipment
In many cases, the customer’s contact with the store may turn out to be unnecessary – provided that the buyer is given the option to monitor the shipment. This functionality is already offered by the vast majority of courier companies and carriers – inPost, DHL or DPD. As part of the shipment monitoring, the customer also receives the phone number of the courier who is to deliver the ordered goods. This gives some flexibility (the customer can, for example, ask the courier to leave the shipment with a neighbor or deliver it at different times), and increases the deliverability of shipments.
However, suppliers are responsible for the solutions listed above. So what can a store do from its side? For example, implement a notification system that will inform the customer by SMS or email of a change in the status of the order. When the buyer learns that his package has just been packed, he will not wait like on pins for delivery, while the status “released for delivery” will be a clear signal that the shipment is expected in the coming hours.
Transparent returns and complaints
The customer has the right to return the goods, as well as to file a complaint if the shipment received is not as described. In turn, it is the duty of the store to comply with the law in this matter. However, the return process is not the same everywhere. Ensure that it is as simple and transparent as possible in your store.
Pro-consumer return of goods and a clear system of complaints are elements that can – counter-intuitively – help win a satisfied customer for the long term. If the customer in an uncomfortable situation for both parties (the store doesn’t want to lose earnings, the customer time and money) has been treated fairly and seriously, he will be happy to return in the future.
Extending the return period is also an idea worth considering – this strategy has been successfully used by IKEA for years, offering customers as many as 365 days to return goods. As a result, many people choose to shop at the Swedish furniture chain – because they know that they can change the concept at any time, abandon the purchased goods and recover the spent money.
One simple but equally effective way to communicate your willingness to accept returns and reach out to the customer is to include a return form with the order. This way you can make it as easy as possible to make a return – if necessary, the customer will only need to fill out the document, pack the goods back into the carton in which he received them and send them back to the address provided.
Availability and assistance in solving problems
This point can cause a lot of difficulties especially for the smallest companies. A strong differentiator for e-stores is their high availability and speed in responding to customer messages. The modern customer often deals with purchases in the evenings and on weekends, and expects a response as soon as possible.
But how do you reconcile high availability with providing work-life balance for employees and yourself? The answer may be the aforementioned chatbots, which help customers find answers to the most frequently asked questions. However, for a chatbot to be effective, it must first be “fed” with knowledge about your store. Make sure the chatbot knows how to answer questions about opening hours, available offerings or return policies. This is the only way it can actually be helpful to customers.
Communication on social media and other channels
Good communication is another pillar of service – not just the after-sales one. It’s worth starting with a small thing, namely… thanking you for your purchase. It’s a small gesture that requires sending one automated email at the end of the transaction. To avoid inundating the customer with e-mails, you can also include a thank you in the message notifying them of successful payment.
After-sales service can also be an activity on social media – especially if your customers approach the brand with questions there. Consider the fact that many customers speak up on social media because they feel bitter about the lack of response in other channels (e.g., after submitting a contact form on the website).
However, remember to respond not only to positive and funny comments – leaving negative ones unanswered can quickly take revenge.
What can be done to improve after-sales customer service in an online store?
All of the solutions described above will significantly affect the quality of after-sales customer service, but this is not the end of the options available. Even if you implement all the items on the list in your company, there will still be plenty of room for improvements.
Here are three slightly more general tips – putting them into practice may be a more time-consuming process, but it will also bring more lasting benefits to your business.
Collect and analyze customer feedback
Reviews in your Google business card or product pages are a powerful database of information about your company – for other customers, but also… for your company. It is reading reviews that can expose problems you may have previously missed.
The key words in our advice, however, are “collect” and “analyze,” because simply reading reviews is definitely not enough. Remember that customer reviews about your store can appear in many places – in direct email communication with customer service, in comments under Facebook posts or even in groups and spaces whose topics do not directly relate to your store.
So how to collect them all? The solution is tools that allow you to monitor the Internet, such as Brand24. They will help you find out what Internet users think of your store, and what is worth improving.
Take care of high quality service
Although it sounds trivial, taking care of quality service is often overlooked. After all, it’s not just about writing customers off, but also about how you do it. In the process of improving customer service, it is crucial to control quality and constantly improve it.
What can you do?
- Read and analyze correspondence between customer service and buyers,
- record phone calls,
- Provide customer service training for employees,
- Introduce a system for evaluating satisfaction with service.
Build relationships with buyers
Although, after all, at a basic level sales is about making money and closing deals, this is a short-term approach and not necessarily effective. In the long run, it turns out to be extremely important to create relationships with customers – ones that will survive even the more difficult moments.
Link building consists of:
- treating the customer with respect – in customer service, it’s sometimes worth putting pride in your pocket and apologizing for mistakes made. Customers also appreciate a simple thank you for shopping or leaving feedback.
- individual approach to the customer – if any difficulties arise after closing a sale, it is worth treating them as an opportunity to strengthen the relationship with the buyer. This is the moment when the customer expects support, active attempts to solve the problem and understanding. Personalizing the buying process will increase customer satisfaction – they will feel like an important part of your company, not just another payment card and shipping address. Although there are also extreme cases, the crushing majority of customers do not want to cheat your store, but simply enjoy the product they ordered.
- Use simple wording and benefit language – bragging about the sensational results that the product you’re selling achieves doesn’t work as well as making customers aware of how using it will affect their lives. Simple communication, with the customer constantly at the center, is the key to a successful, long-term relationship…. And subsequent purchases.
- Offer help – if a customer asks about delivery, the possibility of combining two orders into one, or adding a product to a package that is already packed, the worst solution (besides ignoring the message) is to suggest that they should do something themselves – even if it is possible. Also try not to redirect to other employees for more information. If all you have to do is ask someone who is more knowledgeable about it – ask and get back to the customer with an answer. If something can be arranged, even if it is problematic, try to do it. The customer will remember that you took the time for them and went above and beyond, and this can pay off in the future.
Why is after-sales service important?
After-sales service in e-commerce is an extremely important part of the strategy for your store. Each of the listed behaviors and patterns is important – it’s not easy to pinpoint which solution is worth implementing first, so focus on the ones you can implement first and plan for subsequent changes right away.
All this is done so that in just a few weeks or months your store will be synonymous with a place where customers feel cared for and understood. Only in this way – by providing top-notch customer service – can you hope to create an abundantly successful, long-term relationship with your buyers. A relationship that will benefit everyone.
